Rick Thompson's Stock Investment: The Industry Decision

An investment advisor for National Securities Inc. had just met with a high-net-worth client to discuss equity investment opportunities in various industries or sectors. Her task was to help the client understand the importance of industry analysis as part of the stock selection process. In particular, she wanted to demonstrate how various industries were related to overall economic performance, as well as various industry life cycle stages. This case allows students to assess a particular industry, the auto parts industry, in order to categorize both the type and life cycle stage. This case is the first in a series of three cases that focus on a variety of stock investment decisions. (See 9A99N007 and 9A99N009.)